Man (21) dies after being struck by lorry
A 21-year-old man has died after he was struck by an articulated truck on the N1 in Dundalk, Co Louth.
Gardaí are investigating the fatal road traffic collision which occurred at approximately 12.30am this morning on the N1 Carrickarnan, Drumad, Dundalk, Co Louth.
A male pedestrian, aged 21, was fatally injured after he was struck by an articulated truck. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver of the lorry, a man in his 30s, did not require medical treatment. The body of the deceased has since been removed from the scene and the Coroner has been notified.
Childcare costs
Childcare costs could be reduced by hundreds of Euro in measures being considered to address the rising cost of living in the budget.
Minister for Children Roderic O'Gorman said he is working on proposals to reduce creche fees and increase pay for those who work in the sector. Making childcare more affordable is a key priority for the Coalition, he said.
“Our aim in this year’s budget is to substantially cut the cost of childcare for all parents,” Mr O’Gorman told the Irish Examiner.
"We are acutely aware of the expense for parents, particularly if parents have more than one child in childcare. So this will be a very significant measure to cut the cost of living for families."
Weekend road fatalities a 'rising trend', says RSA
The chair of the Road Safety Authority (RSA), Liz O’Donnell, has expressed concern about the rising trend in road fatalities with the weekends showing up as a particularly dangerous time to be on the road.In an interview on Newstalk Breakfast, Ms O’Donnell said that it is shocking that in the region of half of our fatalities on the roads occur at the weekend.“We’re really concerned about the rising trend this year. The last few years we’ve had the lowest and safest record for road safety in Ireland, and we have made great strides in bringing down road fatalities over the last ten years.
"So we’re concerned this year there’s already 77 deaths and that’s way up on last year in the same period.”
Taoiseach to unveil bust of John Hume at European Parliament
Taoiseach Micheál Martin is to unveil a bust of Nobel laureate John Hume at the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
Mr Martin is in the French city for a series of engagements in the Council of Europe, marking Ireland’s presidency of the body.
On Tuesday evening he will join the president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, in unveiling a bust of the long-time SDLP leader and key architect of the Good Friday agreement Mr Hume, which has been donated to the parliament by the Irish Government.
It marks the contribution the Nobel Peace Prize winner made during his 25 years as an MEP, and the inspiration he took from the European project in his work.
Stability in North cannot be held hostage by ‘Tory infighting’, Sinn Féin warns
Political stability in Northern Ireland cannot be held hostage over infighting within the Conservative Party, Michelle O’Neill has warned.
Sinn Féin’s vice president said the turmoil within British prime minister Boris Johnson’s party was having an impact on the public in the region.
There has been expectation that a UK government Bill to override aspects of the contentious Northern Ireland Protocol will be published this week.
Critics of Mr Johnson claim the aim of the Bill is more about shoring up support for his leadership among the hard line Brexiteer wing of his party, rather than its stated purpose of achieving greater consensus within Northern Ireland for the post-Brexit trading arrangements.
